Sheriff’s precinct moving to Cathcart from Mill Creek

MILL CREEK — The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office plans to build a new $5 million south precinct in the Cathcart area.

The proposal says the current south precinct in Mill Creek is too old and too small.

“In terms of location, it’s not ideal,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Shari Ireton said. “It’s not centrally located for south county.”

The county already has approved $3 million in bond money for the project, according to a county news release.

Sheriff John Lovick is asking the state for the other $2 million.

The sheriff’s office operates headquarters at the County Courthouse in downtown Everett and three precincts in north, east and south county.

The south precinct at 15928 Mill Creek Blvd. is the busiest one, according to the proposal. It houses more than 70 deputies, detectives, support staff and volunteers.

Deputies in south county respond to 911 calls from an estimated 188,000 people in unincorporated areas, Ireton said.

They received 119,797 calls for help in 2012, she said. The north and east precincts combined had fewer calls.

The current south precinct is within Mill Creek city limits, in a building the sheriff’s office has leased since the 1980s. The Mill Creek Police Department is a few blocks away.

The proposed site for the new building is on county-owned property along Cathcart Way, near Highway 9. The property already houses the sheriff’s office gun range, impound lot and other county services.

Lovick went to Olympia to ask for the money earlier this year, Ireton said.

“There is no bill or appropriation for funds, that we know of, at this time,” she said.

The goal would be to wrap up construction by 2016, she said. Planners are looking at a one-story building starting at 10,000 square feet.